Tag Archives: Education

Reviewing post-16 education in London

Principals and chairs of governors from most of London’s colleges assembled at City Hall last week for a briefing on the post-16 area review process. It’s not often that this group meets and although it happened without any great fanfare … Continue reading

Posted in Education, Education policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Private affluence and public envy.

People who campaign for greater social equality sometimes get accused of ‘the politics of envy’. The idea being that anyone who keeps tediously pointing out the gap between rich and poor in our society is simply jealous, choosing to go … Continue reading

Posted in Education, Education policy, NewVIc | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The outstanding lesson

We were lucky enough to have Harriet Harper deliver a NewVIc lecture at Newham Sixth Form College on 14th October. Harriet is a former HMI and now helps to train teachers for the post-compulsory sector. We were delighted to be … Continue reading

Posted in Education, Reviews, Teaching and learning | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

England’s engines of mobility

England’s sixth form and further education colleges are among the most significant engines of social mobility as measured by the number of 16-18 year olds eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) progressing to Higher Education. This contribution needs to be … Continue reading

Posted in Education, NewVIc | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Scale and efficiency in upper secondary education

In which country has the national audit agency investigated the cost of upper secondary education and found it to be costly and inefficient? The figures have only recently been calculated and it seems that this phase is more expensive than … Continue reading

Posted in Education policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

London’s engines of mobility

If we use the proportion of students eligible for free school meals (FSM) progressing to university as a measure of social mobility, it’s clear that the ‘London effect’ is very marked. London’s FSM progression rate in 2012 was 58% compared to … Continue reading

Posted in Education, NewVIc | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The problem with England’s post-16 area reviews

There is a contradiction at the heart of the government’s post-16 area reviews for England and it was clearly exposed the other day by the very civil servants tasked with implementing them. Sixth form college principals and chairs of governors … Continue reading

Posted in Education policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

NewVIc breaks all its university progression records.

Newham Sixth Form College (NewVIc) has always had high rates of university progression, both in terms of numbers and the proportion of leavers progressing. These have consistently been well above the national and London averages. We are also very proud … Continue reading

Posted in Education, NewVIc | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Developing Labour’s vision for education

The heady summer campaign is over and a new leader has been elected. It’s time for the party to turn its attention to policy development as well as effective opposition. Across the whole spectrum of public policy, the party needs … Continue reading

Posted in Education policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Starting to think about a National Education Service

The hysterical reaction from some quarters to the election of a new Labour leader has been quite extraordinary. In his first week in post after an overwhelming victory, Jeremy Corbyn has been portrayed as ‘the most dangerous man in Britain’ … Continue reading

Posted in Education policy, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sharing the secrets of success

This is what I say to all new students at Newham Sixth Form College (NewVIc) after welcoming them on their first day: Now you’ve enrolled and you’re about to start your first year as a sixth form student here, what … Continue reading

Posted in NewVIc, Parents, Students | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The post-16 retake challenge

I think it is a reasonable aspiration that 16-18 year olds who haven’t achieved a threshold standard in English and Maths should continue to study both subjects in some form as part of their programme of study post-16. If possible, students should … Continue reading

Posted in Education policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A parent’s guide to sixth form enrolment

Welcome to enrolment. As parents or guardians your role is vital. You can help your daughter or son to understand their options and you know them better than anyone so your insights can be really useful. So how can you … Continue reading

Posted in Education, NewVIc, Parents | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Enrolment: where aspiration meets reality

It’s a crazy way to start the year; enrolling all our students over a few days in late August before we can start teaching them. Enrolment is a major cross-college team effort which requires every member of staff to do something different … Continue reading

Posted in Education, Learning resources, NewVIc | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Russell group numbers soar in Newham

This year, more students than ever before are progressing from Newham Sixth Form College (NewVIc) to Russell group universities. Once again the college has the highest number of Russell group progressors of any Newham sixth form. 90 NewVIc students have … Continue reading

Posted in Education, NewVIc | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments